Social inequalities in mental disorders and substance misuse in young adults

Abstract

PurposeTo investigate the association between mental disorders and substance misuse at 30 years of age with gender, socioeconomic position at birth, and family income trajectories.MethodsThe 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort was used; all 5914 children born alive at hospital were originally enrolled (99.2% of all city births). In 2012, 3701 subjects were located and interviewed (68% retention rate). Mental disorders and substance misuse were assessed, and their prevalence analysed according to gender, socioeconomic status at birth, and four different income trajectories: always poor, never poor, poor at birth/non-poor at age 30, and non-poor at birth/poor at age 30.ResultsWhile women presented higher prevalence of mental disorders, substance misuse was much more frequent among men. Individuals in the lowest income quintile at birth presented 2–5 times more mental disorders and substance misuse than those in the highest quintile. Young adults who were always poor or were not poor at birth but were poor at 30 years of age had a higher prevalence of mental disorders than the other groups.ConclusionsThe high rates of mental disorders and lifetime suicide attempts in young adults, especially those who were always poor or became poor after childhood, suggest that recent socioeconomic-related stressful situations may have a higher impact on the current mental health than events earlier in life. However, we could not identify at what specific ages socioeconomic changes were more important.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00127-018-1526-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Transtornos mentais em adolescentes, jovens e adultos do Consórcio de Coortes de Nascimento brasileiras RPS (Ribeirão Preto, Pelotas e São Luís)

“…As for socioeconomic determinants, our results agree with those of other longitudinal studies that also point to educational levels and income as important determinants of adults' mental health 58,59,60,61,62 , especially in low and middle-income countries 63 . These findings underline the need to improve these two components of socioeconomic status, which are associated mainly with suicide risk.…”

Mental disorders and suicide risk in emerging adulthood: the 1993 Pelotas birth cohort

“…A recent meta-analysis estimated a global 12-month prevalence of common mental disorders (mood disorders, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders) in adults and found a prevalence of 17.6% of any common mental disorders, which was similar in low-and middle-income countries and high-income countries, but tended to be higher in Latin America and the Caribbean (22%) 3 . In Brazil, only few epidemiological studies estimated the prevalence of mental disorders in early adulthood [19][20][21] , and most assessed symptoms of common mental disorders (depression and anxiety) or specific populations (students, teachers, workers) 19 . Studies applying diagnostic interviews in general population found prevalence of mental disorders varying from 14.4% 21 to 29.6% 20 .…”

Implementação de teleatendimento em saúde mental para estudantes de Medicina durante a pandemia da Covid-19

“…Esse fato é um dilema principalmente nos dois últimos anos da faculdade (internato) 27 . Além disso, uma parcela significativa desses estudantes apresenta uma maior vulnerabilidade para problemas mentais, como aqueles com renda familiar mais baixa que moram em comunidades carentes e com altos índices de violência [28][29][30] . Da mesma forma, os migrantes foram, em muitos casos, obrigados a regressar a suas cidades e seus estados na expectativa do retorno às aulas.…”